Nice to Meet You
by pikaree1
Summary: An Inazuma Eleven GO second generation story revolving around Matsukaze Ameko and her life in a new town for her, not new for her parents. School, friends, overprotective siblings, and crushes-what could POSSIBLY go wrong? :UP FOR ADOPTION/DISCONTINUED:
1. Meeting a Beginning

Once upon a time, there was a boy. Quite a boring beginning, eh? But wait, it gets better. The boy didn't have much going for him besides a kind heart, endless determination, and a love for soccer. He proceeded to save soccer, the future, and the galaxy, but that's not the point of this story.

Not only did he love soccer, he also loved his friends. And not only did he love his friends, he felt a different kind of love for his childhood friend.

The boy grew up, as children do, and he married his childhood friend. I'm sure you'd love all the juicy details of how they got together, but that's not the point of this story either.

No, this story is about someone close to the boy and the girl. _Very_ close. So close, in fact, that they lived under the same roof. So close, in fact, that they would both sacrifice their lives to protect her.

(Don't worry, there won't be any need for that.)

Well, in case you haven't guessed, this story is about their children.

* * *

The hushed whisper of pouring rain outside the window of an Okinawan hospital was interrupted as a shrill cry rent the air.

"It's a girl!" announced the doctor, directing the nurses to wash off the newborn. "That's a healthy cry. Congratulations, Matsukaze-san."

Matsukaze Aoi smiled tiredly. "Thank you. May I see her?"

"Certainly!" chirped a nurse, handing the baby (now swaddled in a blanket) to the woman. "She's adorable!"

"Look, Tenma," Aoi whispered to her husband.

"I'm looking," he replied with a smile, tears welling up in his eyes. "She looks just like you."

"But I bet she's going to have your smile," Aoi said, gently rocking her baby daughter. "Shh, shh, quiet now..."

"What'll you name her?" the nurse asked. She was quite chatty. "Did you pick out names of both genders since you wanted the gender to be a surprise, or are you going to choose it at a spur of the moment?"

"Ameko," Aoi decided immediately, taking in the rain cascading down the window. It had begun as a light shower when she went into labor, but it was pouring now. "We'll name her Ameko."

"It's a good name," Tenma agreed, rubbing his daughter's head.

"Can we come in now?" came the muffled voice of his best friend, interrupting the serenity of the moment. "I think your twins want to see their little sister." The nurse opened the door to reveal a man with pointy blue hair holding two brown-haired toddlers, one a boy and the other a girl. Both children were reaching towards the room. The man nodded his thanks and walked in. "She looks like Aoi," he speculated, plopping the twins down on the hospital bed.

"Yeah. Isn't she adorable?!" Tenma beamed.

"I'm sure she'll turn quite a few heads when she grows up," the doctor said agreeably. "You'll have to beat her suitors off with a stick!"

"Or a soccer ball," Tsurugi added amusedly. The other occupants of the room started to chuckle only to be shushed by Aoi.

"Shh!" the woman hissed. She looked down at her newborn daughter. "She's asleep."

Rain continued to fall outside the window.

 **Fifteen years later**

"Ameko, wake up!"

"Mmmph..."

"Wake up!"

"Hnrghhh..."

"Geez, get up already, shrimp!"

"'M not shrimp..."

"Egh, I've had it. I am _this_ close to flipping the mattress..."

"Tsk, tsk, dear brother. You still have no idea how girls work."

"Well, duh. I'm not a girl."

"I know that." A sigh, then a teasing whisper. "If you don't get up soon, you won't have time to do your hair and eat breakfast."

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!" Pillows went flying as a young girl, twelve years of age, popped up. She was certainly awake now. Spotting the clock, she saw that it was eight. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP EARLIER?! YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR ME TO GET READY! AND IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF JUNIOR HIGH, TOO! NOT TO MENTION PRETTY MUCH THE FIRST TIME I'LL MEET ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROBABLY KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! I DON'T WANT TO MAKE A BAD IMPRESSION!" she ranted, her blue curls flying wildly as she raced around her bedroom. "WHERE'S MY BRUSH?! I KNOW I UNPACKED IT WHEN WE GOT HERE!"

"I told you," smirked the one who had spoken last. One year the blue-haired girls senior, she had brown hair that was in wing-like ponytails. Her face shared some similarities with the other girl, particularly the gray shade of her eyes.

Her brother, also sporting wing-like locks (though smaller), rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. You win this one, nee-san."

"ONIICHAN! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE! GET OUT!" Ameko all but shoved her brother out of the room with one hand, the other raking a brush through her unruly hair. Her older sister chuckled as the door slammed shut behind him. "Poor Torikichi. Ameko, just brush your teeth and change into your uniform. I'll do your hair downstairs while you eat breakfast."

"OKAAAAAAAY!"

Ten hectic minutes later, Ameko was shoveling rice into her mouth as her sister gathered her hair into two corkscrew pigtails.

"You shouldn't eat so fast! You'll choke!" reprimanded her mother. "There's still time, you know?"

"Mmphay!" Ameko managed around a mouthful of fish.

After finishing her breakfast (without choking and dying), Ameko set off to school with her siblings.

"Take care of her, okay?" Aoi ordered. "Kotori, Torikichi."

"Yes, mom," the twins chorused.

"We'll stick to her like glue, even missing our own classes to make sure she has a great first day- OW!" He winced as his elder sister's elbow drove into his side.

"Not funny," she scolded. Aoi resisted the urge to facepalm and waved them goodbye.

"I hope they'll be okay..." she murmured.

A chorus of "good morning"s rang out as the Matsukaze siblings raced past their neighbors on their way to school.

"Hey, hey, Raimon is where Mom and Dad went, right?!"

"Yes! Though Dad spent a year abroad for soccer. And the junior high is where they met Tsurugi-jichan!"

"Pointy-head-jichan was a real jerk back then, too."

"Torikichi." A karate chop. "No badmouthing him. He's our godfather, after all."

"OW! Sorry, jeez!"

Before long, they arrived at the school gates.

"We're here! Finally!" Ameko exclaimed in delight. She ignored her brother's mutter of "it was only ten minutes" and the following _WHACK_ "OW!" combo in favor of walking around and taking in the sight of the blooming cherry blossoms and the Raimon emblem on the buildings. The giant soccer club building that the middle school had was conspicuously absent in the high school, but aside from that (and the fact that the students were all wearing blazers instead of the more traditional uniforms at the middle school), it wasn't all that different. "Amazing," she breathed. She turned to face her siblings, still walking. "I can't believe I'm finally-"

"Ameko, look-!"

Ameko crashed into someone.

"-out..." Kotori finished with a sigh.

"I am _so_ sorry," Ameko apologized, turning around and bowing to whoever she had crashed into.

"Tch, just be more careful next time," the person responded, his voice identifying him as male.

Ameko straightened up and opened her mouth to continue speaking, but the words died in her throat.

 _'So. Cool.'_

"IT HAS BEGUN," Torikichi said in as deep a voice as he could manage. Kotori merely facepalmed and groaned.

 **(A/N: Yo, Petal here. At the request of Charles, I have begun an Inazuma Eleven second generation fic. Hopefully, it'll be up to par with the other ones I've seen. WARNINGS: this story is not written with Japanese culture outside of what is seen in shoujo manga taken into account; I am not Japanese, so I pretty much everything has been gleaned from the internet, manga, anime, and Zentauria (who is a great writer, so check her out); chapters will likely be short; updates will likely be sparse; THIS IS A SECONDARY STORY FOR ME. Summer vacation should make things better. Probably. Thank you for taking the time out of your day/night to read this, and please review!)**


	2. Meeting Plot Relevant Characters

**(A/N: ...Hello, everyone. It's been over a month since the first chapter, and all I have to offer is a meager one thousand words. I'm sorryyyyyyyy... T~T As always, I don't own the franchise. Neither do I own Haqua. No, Haqua belongs to Luigi the Dawn who has been giving this story a lot of support. Thanks, man.)**

"IT HAS BEGUN," Torikichi said in as deep a voice as he could manage. Kotori merely facepalmed and groaned.

"Torikichi, it's not like she's instantly fallen in love with him or something," she sighed. Honestly, her little brother and his overactive imagination...

Ameko was silent as she gawked at the tall young man in front of her. His skin was pale, especially in contrast to his eyes, which were an inky black. The color of his wavy hair reminded her of a blueberry, her favorite fruit. Funny, he also seemed to bear a bit of a resemblance to Tsurugi-jichan...

Kotori noticed the faint blush on her sister's cheeks and twitched, trying not to overreact. "...No. It's okay. It's okay. It... It's just embarrassment. She's blushing 'cause she's embarrassed is all. I don't need to bash his face in. I don't need to bash his face in."

Torikichi rolled his eyes. There she went being all overprotective... "Nee-san, calm down. We don't even know this guy. And need I remind you of the lawsuit when you beat up that one kid back when Ameko was in third grade for giving her a flower?"

Unfortunately, Ameko was still in la-la land as the blue-haired boy snapped his finger in front of her face. Such strong-looking hands, she mused.

* * *

"HELLO!" Taro grunted in annoyance when the girl still didn't respond. From her pink ribbon, he guessed she was a first year. Tch, this was annoying. He turned around and walked to where Tomoe was waiting for him (impatiently, judging by the tapping of her bamboo sword on the ground-looked like the teachers hadn't confiscated it yet) by the class listings.

"About time you got here, prince charming," she declared, punching his shoulder. The teasing had commenced.

"Shut up," he muttered, looking through the class listings. "We in the same class again?"

"Don't run from the subject," she smirked. "I saw that first year blushing."

He deftly did just the opposite of what she suggested. "I have no idea what you're talking about. So? Are we?"

She rolled her eyes. "Party pooper. We are. Class 2-B." She cast a glance back at the first year. "She's still staring at you."

Taro felt a shiver run up his spine and also glanced back. The girl was still staring at him, but...

...so was the freaky wing-haired girl. The boy who looked like her had a firm grip on her arm, but she still looked like she could break free, march up to him, and rip out his throat. She was wearing the blue second-year ribbon, so she might even be in the same class as him. _Not good_.

Tomoe let out a harsh, barking sound that those who knew her could identify as laughter. "Nice one, Casanova. You've got two new students after you already."

"No, she's after my blood," he corrected. "...No clue what the first year's problem is, though."

"Tsurugi Taro."

The voice that called to him was soft and refined, but harsh and cold. Already knowing who it was, Taro glanced up. Standing not too far away from him was a brunette dressed primly in a second year uniform. Her shirt was tucked neatly into her skirt, and her long stockings clung to her legs without a single run. Her steely cinnamon eyes bored into his.

"What do you want, Shindou," he grumped.

Her eyes narrowed as her glare intensified. "Oh, do forgive me. I merely overheard Nishiki-san calling you Casanova in reference to our new students. I will not tolerate you preying on them."

Taro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I'm such a pervert. Look, it was an accident 'cause Tomoe pushed me. I didn't mean to touch your-"

The offended girl's face tightened. "If memory serves, we agreed to a truce to never speak of that again."

"Eesh, sorry..."

"Tsubaki!" Tomoe shouted suddenly.

A pink-haired girl with startling violet eyes bounded over. "Heyo!" she greeted boisterously. "Tsurugi-kun, you aren't pickin' on Izumi-chan or anything, right?! 'Cause seriously, I _will_ sic the stage crew on ya."

Too many nuisances in one day. Taro considered skipping class, but Tomoe would never let him live it down if he did. That, and Izumi looked as if she knew what he was planning and was fully prepared to throw a piano at him or send a soccer ball flying into his gut during practice.

Before all that, a little something needs to be explained. You know, background. More specifically, Taro and Izumi's enmity.

Tsurugi Taro. Acted like a delinquent, actually skipped class (but never enough to get kicked out of the soccer club), an excellent brain but poor effort, and a hopeful for the position of captain of the soccer club.

Shindou Izumi. A prim and proper lady as befitted her status as a member of the Shindou family, a loyal rule-follower, an excellent brain, and a diligent worker, also a hopeful for captaincy.

The duo fought tooth and nail mainly for the last reason. Anyone else with that personality would have merely been avoided, but with the position in jeopardy, they immediately became enemies.

Not that that went for their friends as well. Tsubaki and Tomoe were close friends like their mothers were, and they honestly didn't have much of a problem with their friends' opposition. But sides were sides, and they remained loyal when it truly counted, like the chicken fight during the school sports festival...

Wait, no. Izumi swore to kill anyone who mentioned it, so no details for you. Sorry.

Anyway, an intense, heated glaredown ensued. Unfortunately, they were interrupted when someone tapped Izumi on the shoulder. She forced herself to turn away from the glaring contest. "Yes?"

"The teacher requested your presence, Shindou-san," a boy in their year said calmly. He surveyed the rest of the group, marking where each one was and the quickest route if he needed to escape in his mind.

Izumi nodded curtly. "Thank you for telling me, Estoc-kun. I'll go immediately." Izumi departed, Tsubaki bounding after her and chattering about something.

Tomoe frowned. "Who are you?" she blurted out, bringing up her bamboo sword- the boy tensed but relaxed a bit when she simply let it rest on her shoulder.

"I am Estoc Haqua," he introduced himself, his Japanese fluent despite his foreign name. "I am a transfer student from France. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ohhhh," Tomoe nodded. "Well then. Nice to meet ya, Haqua." At his quirked eyebrow she continued, "Well, don't you foreign people introduce yourselves with your given name first and your family name last?"

Haqua promptly shook his head. "No, I was instructed in Japanese mannerisms and culture. Estoc is my family name."

"..Oh," Tomoe deflated. "Okay, so how do you know Shindou?"

Taro snorted at her. "He's joining the soccer club, so _obviously_ he's going to know her. He came to one of our practices over break and was introduced to the team."

"Oh, shut up! How was I supposed to know that?! I'm in kendo!"

After deeming the exchange as one of lesser importance, Haqua allowed himself to look for the extremely hostile aura be had sensed emanating from someone in the area. This wouldn't do- he couldn't be uninformed about any threat to his safety. His mother had drilled that into him when he was a child. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted the cause of the hostility: it was a girl with brown pigtails that had a distinctive wing-like appearance to them. If he remembered the school's history correctly, she was likely a daughter or relative of Matsukaze Tenma, the captain of the Raimon junior high soccer club in the years 2011-2014. Her family heritage aside, she was glaring fiercely in the direction of Tsurugi Taro. She also happened to look as though she wished to rip the bluenette's throat out and feed it to an _Aphrodita aculeata_ , but her posture was somewhat defensive as well, suggesting that she was protecting something.

Haqua watched her coolly, the indifferent expression on his face remaining unchanged. He also observed that her ribbon was the blue of a second year's; she might even be in his class. He read down the list until he encountered the names- _Matsukaze Kotori, Matsukaze Torikichi_. He surmised that Kotori was the girl's given name; Torikichi must be the the name of the boy holding her back. Both of them were in his class, but his eyes were drawn more to Kotori's name.

This year might turn out to be interesting indeed.

 **(A/N: And that's the end of chapter two. A barrage of character introductions, blueberry boy turns out to be a Tsurugi, Shindou's kid hates him, Kotori sparks Haqua's interest, and I procrastinate. I have summer homework. It's been a week and a half since vacation started. I have not yet completed it. I am a failure. The Catcher in the Rye was not an enjoyable read. My mom threw out my algebra notes from two years ago during one of her cleaning sprees, so I have to resort to checking the internet for how to solve some of the problems. The shading part of graphing inequalities has always eluded me... Anyway. Thanks for reading the chapter, thanks again if you read my rant-ish thing, and please review.)**


	3. Meeting New Friends (Part 1)

**(A/N: I told some people that I'd have a lot of time to write for the next couple weeks because I'm getting a break from marching band. Lawls, nope. I have to memorize my music in order to make my life surviveable when band camp happens. *hysterical laughter*)**

After the speech given by the school chairman, the shapeless, chaotic blob of students had separated into smaller chaotic blobs- in other words, their classes. Ameko glanced about her. To one side, she saw a girl with dark gray hair and blue bangs (two-toned hair? How odd. Dyed, maybe?) speaking animatedly to a group of scared-looking boys. To another, she saw a purple-haired boy who looked every bit as lost as she was. She decided that he was her best bet at making a new friend without intruding (and he looked so _lost_ , almost like her puppy Sachiko) and promptly approached him. "Hi!"

"GAH!" he shrieked, jumping three feet in the air. Whoa... Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. When he landed again, he glanced at Ameko, dark eyes flashing fearfully. "H-Hello..." he stuttered.

Ameko smiled encouragingly. "Sorry I scared you. My name's Matsukaze Ameko!"

"K-K-Kageyama Tadao," he introduced himself timidly. "N-Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay? You looked kinda lost like me."

"Y-Yeah." He nodded and gulped, trying to put on a brave face. "I was separated from someone is all."

"...Oh." Ameko was slightly crestfallen. However, she hadn't grown up with the king of optimists as her father for nothing! She would take a bad situation, put it through the wringer, and see how it liked them apples! ...Nah, that was Kotori's shtick. Ameko preferred to deal with problems with peace offerings such as food. And speaking of food, this guy reminded her of a bunch of grapes. ... No, bad Ameko! What did Torikichi tell you about comparing people to food based on their hair!

"Er, Matsukaze-san?" Tadao waved a hand in front of her face, trying to get her to snap out of her daze. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh." She blinked. "Sorry for spacing out. And hey," she smiled, "you stopped stuttering!"

Tadao smiled a little- Ameko bit back a squeal; he was _adorable_ \- and was a about to respond when their homeroom teacher started speaking.

"Everyone, gather up, gather up!" Tachimukai-sensei called. She was a middle-aged woman with graying navy blue hair. "Class 1-B, follow me!"

And thus the contingent of fifteen-year-olds trooped after their teacher into their classroom in an orderly-ish fashion.

"Your names are written on index cards on your desks. Find them and sit down," Tachimukai-sensei instructed. The orderly-ish line degenerated into another chaotic blob, and the students drifted around the classroom like sheep in a pasture, except they were searching for their desks rather than a spot to graze. Ameko found herself seated behind the gray-haired girl from before. _Glazed chocolate doughnut with blue icing drizzled on_ , she labeled her. Glancing around, she saw Tadao in a window seat and looking very frightened, almost as if he was afraid that a delinquent would arrive and claim the seat as theirs.

(A ridiculous notion. Probably. After all, that kind of stuff only happened in high school anime. ...Right?)

"Hey, uh... Matsukaze!"

Ameko turned to face glazed-chocolate-doughnut-with-a-blue-icing-drizzle. "Yes?"

The girl grinned. "The name's Matatagi Hotaru! Nice ta meetcha!"

"Nice to meet you," Ameko returned.

"I'm taking attendance!" Tachimukai-sensei called. "Aomori Saito..."

"Here!"

"Are you joining the soccer club?" Hotaru asked excitedly, though she lowered her voice.

Ameko winced. "Are you sure we should be talking while-?"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Hotaru declared, waving one hand dismissively. "Anyway, are you?"

"Well, maybe as a manager," Ameko replied. "It's fun, but... I've never been much of a sports person."

Hotaru shrugged. "Your loss. I'll get lots of glory on that field, just you wait! I'll show them and all their kind..." Ameko almost mistook the dark aura radiating from the gray-haired girl as Keshin. Whoever 'them' was, she did not envy them.

"Them...?"

"All the people who ever laughed at my soccer skills," Hotaru elaborated. "I'm gonna show them that I _can_ be an ace striker! I'm _going_ to be a striker, just like my dad! Forget all the midfielder stuff, I'm gonna be a striker!"

Ameko frowned. "...My dad is a midfielder."

The confident smirk on Hotaru's face dropped like sand from a child's hands. "...So he's _that_ Matsukaze? Okay, awkward..."

A shadow fell over them. "Awkward indeed."

Both girls glanced up and saw Tachimukai-sensei standing over them, a falsely sweet smile on her face. "May I ask _why_ you two are talking while I'm taking attendance?"

Hotaru shrank back from the frightening smile. "...We're sorry, ma'am," she apologized meekly, a far cry from the confidence she had spoken with mere minutes ago. "It won't happen again." Ameko nodded almost violently in agreement.

And just like that, the storm cleared and Tachimukai-sensei was sporting a sunny grin. "Good. Matatagi Hotaru, Matsukaze Ameko, present. Minazuki Retsu?"

* * *

"Everyone, please listen up," called the teacher of class 2-E. He was a timid-looking elderly man with a bouffant at the front of his head and drooping eyes. He had the look of someone who had been through the wringer- he had, and it was his own fault.

What's more, no one was listening except for Izumi and the three new students. Well, actually, Izumi was the only one really paying attention. Torikichi's eyes were drifting around the room, Haqua was observing Kotori, and Kotori kept casting quick, curious glances at the boy in response.

"...Hello?"

Izumi kicked Tsubaki front of her, giving the poor teacher (though he honestly deserved all the trouble given to him) one more audience member.

"Um, we have three transfer students..."

It was as if a switch had been flipped. The students all snapped their heads to look at their teacher attentively as if they had been doing so right from the beginning. Evidently, 'transfer students' was the magic word.

"...Er, we've got Matsukaze Kotori and Torikichi from Okinawa, and Estoc Haqua from France," Fuyukai-sensei coughed, gesturing to each in turn. This immediately sent the class into quiet, excited chatter. Matsukaze? Like the Matsukaze who was the captain of the soccer team when Raimon won the last Holy Road tournament? And the blonde guy was from France! Several of the girls sighed happily. France was the place with romance and roses and fashion, right? And the boy was quite a looker... Now, if he would only stop looking at Matsukaze...

The three students were mostly unaffected by the gossiping (Haqua more so than the twins-he had yet to take his eyes off of Kotori, and she really wanted to know if there was something on her face).

"Er, uh, Matsukaze-kun, Matsukaze-san," Fuyukai-sensei flinched when he said their names, almost as if recalling a bad memory, "your seats are there. Estoc-kun, your seat is there." He pointed to a desk by the window, and the budding fangirls started another round of whispering- the Rule of Window dictated that good-looking guys sitting next windows were main characters in school-setting anime, meaning he was likely to get an epic love story. Right? Right! And so they drifted off into la-la land while Tsubaki tried (and failed) to recruit the guy now sitting in front of her to the drama club. Tsk, his face would make their plays a hit...

Haqua turned in his seat to continue watching Kotori. By now she was thoroughly weirded out. And honestly? The intensity of his gaze kind of... frightened her.

Now, Kotori was by no means a coward. In third grade, she had stood up to a sixth-grader who was bullying Ameko. She had lost horribly, but that hadn't stopped her from challenging him again and again until he stopped. When she was six, she had fended off a feral dog with a soccer ball. She had suffered a nasty bite, and a nastier infection, but it was worth it. And since she was a child, she had spurned and growled at reporters towering over her after her father's fame.

So no, Kotori wasn't easily scared. But Haqua's staring? It bewildered her. Why single her out? Why stare so intensely? Was he trying to send her a telepathic message or something? She didn't know!

(Torikichi snickered quietly from his seat behind his sister. His intuition was telling him that this Haqua guy had taken an interest in Kotori... And the sight of Kotori, one who would detect, sniff out, and snap at even the slightest hint of someone liking Ameko, so utterly befuddled and not even considering the possibility that someone could like her, even if it was merely interest, was quite entertaining in itself. Oh, be couldn't wait to see what would happen...)


	4. Meeting New Friends (Part 2)

**(A/N: I hath returned! And now I'm here to give you another short chapter. It feels great to not have to churn out a four thousand word monster. I own my little ones, but Luigi the Dawn and Kiko Mizushima have also got stakes in the story via their OCs. Hmm... What else was I going to say? Ah! While researching Japanese culture, I discovered that the middle school 'relationships' that are horrifyingly common in the U.S. are nonexistent over in Japan! Which means CLAMP lied to me. Then again, there was also a dude who liked his student. And he was an elementary school teacher. Terada-sensei, you pedophile. But back to the point! It appears that relationships are even sorta discouraged in high school, which explains why I, in my limited encounters with shoujo manga, rarely see them take place in middle school settings except for CCS. Lovely series, weird values. So! Since this is still pretty early in the story, I've opted for an age up! Everyone's gone up three years and now they attend Raimon High school which also means that I've edited the other chapters. Whoo! Also, insert music in shounen anime is always super awesome, particularly the ones for battle scenes. Why is that? Listening to 'Tsuna Kakusei' right now.)**

* * *

AGES FOR THOSE WHO DON'T READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES:

KOTORI, TORIKICHI, HAQUA, TARO, TOMOE, IZUMI, TSUBAKI: 16

AMEKO, TADAO, HOTARU: 15

ALL GROWN UPS: TAKE A WILD GUESS? I DUN KNOW

* * *

As soon as classes were over and everyone had stood, bowed, and cleaned up the classroom (a task that didn't require _too_ much time; thank goodness for indoor shoes), Kotori was out like a shot, one hand on her brother's collar and the other holding her bag. She pressed the bag against her leg in an attempt to maintain some semblance of decorum and keep her skirt from flaring out embarrassingly, but she didn't spare much effort other than that. Haqua considered pursuing her but decided against; she was the daughter of Matsukaze Tenma and probably had a childhood steeped in soccer. In all likelihood, she would show up at the soccer club. Of course, even if she didn't, her brother would - he had heard the other boy talking about it with a few classmates.

And he didn't want to scare her too much. He believed the term was 'stalking'...? Hmph. Stupid societal norms. As long as he didn't cause her any harm, what was the problem?

"Estoc-kun!"

Haqua turned towards the voice that called to him; it belonged to the girl whose seat was behind his. If he read the seating chart correctly, her name was Kirino Tsubaki. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to join the drama club," she said cheerfully, repeating her earlier request. "Your face is perfect for it!"

She literally asked nothing about his acting ability, which was a stupid move. If it was a drama club, appearance and build were certainly important, but those factors could be dealt with using make-up, masks, and costumes. If his acting was wooden (which it was _not_ , thank you very much, but she didn't know that), then it would all amount to nothing.

But he didn't have the time for extended conversation; he had a club to join and an interesting maiden to formally acquaint himself with. He rarely met people with that much fire in their eyes, and those that he had met were more focused on rivalries and enmities than protecting another. "Sorry, but no," he said shortly, bowing slightly in a goodbye before hurrying off in the direction of the building's front door.

Tsubaki frowned as she watched him go. Drat. Yet another promising prospect lost. With a sigh, she shrugged and went to go recruit (terrorize) the first-years.

* * *

Kotori ran as fast as her short skirt would allow, mentally cursing the fact that long skirts were seen as a sign of delinquency. Torikichi did his best to keep up, legs churning as he tried not to trip as a result of his sister's fast pace. They only slowed when a teacher called for them to stop. Kotori uttered an apology before continuing at a far more sedate pace.

"Ah, nee-san," Torikichi coughed once she relinquished her hold on his collar and allowed him to breathe properly again, "where are we going?"

"To pick up Ameko," she snapped as if it were obvious.

"Do you even know where her classroom is?"

"..."

"Tsk. Thought not. Wait here a mo, okay?" Torikichi broke off from her and strode confidently over to a group who seemed to be chattering about the tennis club. "Excuse me!" They turned to look at him, curiosity evident in their eyes.

"What's up?" the tallest of the group inquired.

Torikichi grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry to bug you, but I was looking for classroom 1-C..."

"It's upstairs," a rotund boy said helpfully, pointing down the hallway. "All the first year classrooms are on the third floor."

Torikichi smiled again. "Thanks. Catch y'all later!" And then he hurried back to Kotori, waggling his eyebrows. "It's called asking for directions. Easy as pie."

She glared at him. "I was about to do that."

"Sure you were. Let's go!"

When they arrived at the classroom, they found Ameko chatting amiably with a purple-haired boy. Torikichi guessed that she had mentally nicknamed him grapes. He also guessed that keeping a tight grip on Kotori's arm was the reason why the poor boy wasn't screaming. "Ame!" he called. "We have a Code Siscon!" Both younger teens turned to look, and just like that, it was like a flip was switched with grape-boy.

He practically leaped towards the window, scrabbled to get it open, and jumped. Torikichi's eyes widened. Wasn't this the third floor?

...

The three Matsukaze siblings all rushed to the window. Even if Kotori held a strong dislike for any young male (and come to think of it, older male) that approached her sister without her express permission, that didn't mean she was all for the end of an otherwise innocent life, and no one knew that better than Torikichi, who was often the one to accompany her when she went on an overprotective rampage. She never dealt severe or life-threatening injuries; the most she ever did was knock people unconscious. Granted, that still wasn't good nor moral, but it was better than killing.

The weird part was how she'd bandage them up afterwards...

Whatever.

(Though there was that one time she nearly turned that particularly persistent lad who'd even made Ameko uncomfortable into a mummy. That was funny. Also a little scary. The bandages weren't even wrapped untidily, which was perhaps the most terrifying part of all.)

To their collective surprise, however, the boy had landed unharmed... Well, more 'caught' than 'landed'. A black-haired girl was holding him in a princess carry while he sobbed into her shoulder. A bag and a _shinai_ lay neglected on the ground. They all let out a collective sigh of relief. They had been collectively worried about him. Then they collectively-

Oi. Stop collectively throwing rotton tomatoes at me.

Okay, I'll stop now.

"Onee-chan!" Ameko said accusingly, rounding on her older sister now that she knew that her new (tentative) friend was somewhat okay. "Why'd you have to look at him with such a scary face?!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that he would jump out the window?" Kotori said defensively.

"You know, glaring at people before you even know them is kind of impolite to begin with," Torikichi said idly, looking at a plane out the window. He was ignored.

"Kageyama-kun is really shy!" Ameko scolded. "You scared him!" Then she picked up grape-head's abandoned bag and raced out of the classroom, calling over her shoulder that she was going to check on him and that she didn't want them following her.

Torikichi considered cracking a smart aleck comment. He wisely decided against and instead dragged his older sister in the direction of the soccer club's clubroom (which was far more modest than the gargantuan monster they'd seen when they passed the middle school) while she was dazed.

* * *

"Tadao," Tomoe said calmly, "would you care to explain _why_ you just leaped out of a third story window, you crazy kid?!"

"Sorry, Tomo-nee," he whimpered, not relinquishing his terrified grip on her. "B-But there was a scary girl and I knew there were bushes out here to break my fall-"

"Except there aren't," she pointed out. "This isn't Raimon Jr. High, remember? The layout's different. You're lucky I was here to catch you, you little dunderhead!"

"I'm sorry," he repeated, finally loosening his grip a little. Tomoe took that as a sign to set him down. This was a good thing, because it meant she was able to dodge when something blue, white, and gray came charging out the doors and stopped just short of Tadao.

"Are you okay?!" the blue, white, and gray something asked frantically, wringing its (her, Tomoe soon corrected herself) hands. "I'm so, so sorry about my sister. She... gets like that sometimes. She has no intention of hurting you, I swear. Probably. I don't know, she's really calmed down a lot, especially since her first year in junior high. She mostly limits herself to glaring at people now."

"Wow," Tadao said faintly. "She sure can glare."

"Um... _Are_ you okay?"

"Just... a little shaken..."

"AH!"

The something jumped a little (Tadao jumped a lot) at Tomoe's exclamation before turning to look at her. The swordswoman had a fist in her open palm having just smacked it in there as she came to a revelation.

"You're that girl who was staring at Taro!"

The girl who was staring at Taro blinked. "Er...?"

"Blue hair, black eyes, kind of looks like a vampire," Tomoe clarified.

"Oh..." Then the girl who was staring at Taro blushed madly and broke down into mumbles. Yep, infatuation if Tomoe had ever seen it.

"So who is she?" Tomoe asked, pointing.

"Matsukaze Ameko," Tadao replied, having regained some of the color in his cheeks after the jump scare. "She's in my class."

Tomoe whistled. "Matsukaze, huh? Must be fate." She turned back to the blushing first-year and grinned. "Hey, Matsukaze, whaddya say I introduce you to Taro?"

Ameko let out a shrill squeak, and her already relatively high voice jumped a few more octaves. "I-Introduce?!" Her voice lowered again as she tremblingly pasted a polite smile on her face. "Oh, you don't have to go to the trouble..."

"It's no problem at all," Tomoe declared with a grin. "I have some time before my club starts anyway. Tadao, wanna come with?"

Tadao shook his head. "No, I'll head over to the drama club and join up. Kirino-senpai's probably looking for me..."

Tomoe clucked her tongue but shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay." She patted his head. "Don't let her run you ragged like she did during that play two years ago, okay? Set lives matter!"

"Set lives matter," he echoed with a small smile. "Bye Tomo-nee, Matsukaze-san." And then he was off at a light jog.

"Kageyama-kun! You forgot your bag!"

 **(A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. I feel like it's going to be far more geared to dialogue than I originally thought it would be. By the way, I've got another small story currently running, and I'm contemplating a bi-weekly schedule now that I've resumed both. Welp, that's all. I'm off to deviantArt to drop off my doodles that I shouldn't have been doing during class.)**


	5. Meeting the Soccer Club (Part 1)

**(A/N: Hello, humans! Merry Christmas! Or... belated Christmas, if I don't finish this in time. Ah... and happy Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Saturnalia, and whatever else you may celebrate. Welp... Back to business and the decidedly less festive chapter. ... Maybe I should have someone wear an ugly Christmas sweater... Oh! And I, er, also stuck one of my favorite characters from another series in the chapter as a minor character. Just saying. ... I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. *prostrates self before readers* The opportunity just presented itself! Also, I don't actually know what the inside of the men's restroom is, much less a Japanese one. And by the way, under _no circumstances_ should you expect consistent chapter lengths. I never expected to make it over a thousand.)**

Last time

 _The main character disowned her sister for bullying her boyfriend, then fled to him... Only to find that he was seeing an older woman?!_

No, you moron. You're fired. Last time Ameko told off Kotori for scaring Tadao, her new friend, and then stormed off to bring him his bag and make sure he was okay. Then she met his 'older sister', Tomoe, and... Tomoe decided that the next order of business is to introduce her to Taro.

 _And this time, Taro is having an affair with the young mistress, Izumi, because they love Christmas sweaters!_

Didn't I just say you're fired?!

* * *

"YO, TARO!" Tomoe barreled into the soccer club's clubroom, Ameko half-running, half-being-dragged behind her. Rather than the blue-haired second-year, however, they were faced with a disgruntled brunette, a calm blonde, and a gray-haired girl. Ameko and Hotaru waved at each other happily.

"What are you doing here?" Izumi asked quietly, shooting a glare at Tomoe.

"Introducing the first year that was staring at Taro this morning," the black-haired girl responded without missing a beat. She hauled Ameko up in front of her. Ameko waved again, this time at Izumi and Haqua, mentally comparing the brunette to a neat ball of soba noodles (not the green kind, though) drenched in soy sauce and Haqua to a custard eclair. "What's going on?"

"Soccer club business," Izumi snapped, her primly folded hands tightening. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up. Her stewing expression melted into one of slight shame and indignance, finding herself faced with the kind violet eyes of the team's goalkeeper.

(Ooooh, chocolate macaroon.)

"Izu-chan," he said gently, "don't be so cold. It's alright if they want to know, isn't it?"

"...I guess," she mumbled, looking back down and glaring at her hands. Tomoe brightened, and that seemed to be the end of that.

"So what's up, Sou-san?" she asked eagerly.

"We're going to be choosing the next captain today," he explained, motioning for her and Ameko to sit. "Unfortunately, one of the two candidates - Tsurugi-kun - is missing, which is strange since he's usually one of the first people here. Our current captain went to look for him. Everyone else is out on the field."

Ameko blinked. Tsurugi? So then... It wasn't a coincidence that he looked like her siblings' godfather... But... Why did they need to choose the next captain right now? 'Sou-san' seemed to read the curiousity in her eyes and explained, "Since we third years can get a little bit busy with college entrance and studying, Tachimukai-sensei, who became our club adviser five years ago when she moved up from Raimon middle school, decided to implement a sort of co-captaincy system. The third year captain chooses a second year to train to be the next captain. They'll ask their advice, listen to their ideas, give some pointers, even let them take the reins if necessary, that kind of thing. That's not to say that things can't change, but from what I've seen and heard, there was only one instance because the trainee's father got a job transfer. Anyway, that sums up what's going on right now."

Ameko's curiosity abated, Tomoe huffed, leaning back against her chair. "What's that moron Taro doing? He's wanted that position since he first joined up! Matsukaze, I realize you have something of a crush on him, but think carefully before you set your heart on him."

'Sou-san''s eyes widened in recognition, and he leaned forward a bit in his seat. "Would you happen to have any relation to the Matsukaze who helped save Japan's youth soccer, and the galaxy?"

Ameko blinked. "...The galaxy?"

Oh. Perhaps he shouldn't have said that. "No, if you don't know, it's not my place to tell you. I'm Kirino Sousuke, the current goalkeeper." He bowed in greeting, and she hastily bowed back.

"I'm Matsukaze Ameko! F-First year! I just moved here from Okinawa! Nice to meet you!"

"Ah, Ameko. What happened to grapehead?" came her brother's voice from the door.

Ameko blinked and turned around, her eyes lighting up. "Onii-chan!"

Torikichi waved cheerfully. "Hey." He turned to Sousuke and bowed politely. "I heard the end of your conversation from outside. Matsukaze Torikichi, second year transfer student. I'm interested in joining the club."

Sousuke smiled. "That's wonderful! I'll get another registration form."

"You don't have to do that, Sousuke-san!" Izumi exclaimed, rising. "I'll go get it. You already got the forms for Matatagi-san and Estoc-kun, after all." Her voice dropped and she muttered, "And you cleaned the club room on your own the other day..."

Ameko and Torikichi stared at him. He shrugged. "I like housework," he said simply. Then he turned to the other unofficially un-introduced occupants of the room. "Let's get everyone acquainted, shall we?"

Hotaru went first, jumping up with a surplus of energy. "Matatagi Hotaru, first year! I just joined!" she announced. "Pleased to meet ya!"

Tomoe went next. "Nishiki Tomoe, second year! I'm not actually in the soccer club, I just like to hang around sometimes." Glancing at Ameko, she added in clarification, "No, I'm not actually Tadao's sister. We just grew up in the same neighborhood."

Once everyone seemed to settle done sufficiently enough for him to talk, Haqua added his two cents. "Estoc Haqua. Second year transfer," he said in a much more subdued tone than those who had gone before him. He kept his eyes trained on the two Matsukazes present. "Where is Kotori-san?"

Torikichi chuckled, glancing to the side and putting up his hands in a placating manner. "Oh, somewhere in the school..."

Haqua's eyes narrowed, his suspicion clear. That wasn't an answer.

Five minutes later, Izumi returned to the scene with the form and a tray of steaming green tea. Haqua didn't pause squinting at Torikichi and left his cup untouched, only sparing a 'thank you' for politeness's sake. It was kind of unnerving. Torikichi couldn't wait to see how Kotori would react to being scrutinized now that they were out of class.

"How'd she boil the water so fast?" Ameko whispered to Tomoe as Izumi pointed to the proper areas for Torikichi to fill in.

"Dunno. Voodoo?" Tomoe whispered back half-heartedly. She took a sip of the tea. "...Ugh. It tastes delicious, as always," she muttered mutinously.

Izumi snorted. "Just because you are unable to wait long enough for it to properly steep doesn't mean other people aren't either."

"But you took, like, no time at all to make it and come back! How's that waiting?! How did you boil the water that fast?!"

"Imbecile. I had pre-boiled water in a thermos."

"Who even does that?!"

While the duo bickered, Ameko turned to her brother and repeated Haqua's question. "Hey, onii-chan? What happened to onee-chan?"

Torikichi shrugged. "I couldn't keep up with her, so I came here instead," he said vaguely. "By the way, Nishiki-san is right. This tea really is good."

And that left Ameko even more worried about what her sister had gotten up to.

Tomoe finished up her argument with Izumi just in time to receive a _PING!_ from her phone. Checking the text, she grimaced and glanced at Sousuke. "Sou-san, do you mind taking over from here? I need to get to kendo."

He nodded in consent with a smile. "Of course."

"Great! You're the best, Sou-san!" Tomoe dashed off, the _shinai_ slung over her shoulder bouncing along after her. Izumi winced.

"...Someone needs to make her stop carrying the around," she groaned.

"Now, now, Izu-chan," Sousuke said cheerfully. "As long as she's happy, what's the harm?"

"A lot, actually."

"OH SH- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tomoe came racing back into the clubroom, a wild, terrified expression on her face. She leaped clear over the benches and charged into the boys' changing room. A _CLANG_ indicated that she had taken refuge in one of the lockers.

Ameko blinked. "...What was-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A stocky purple-haired girl (purple braided pastry!) was the next to charge in, equally terrified. "Sousuke, cover for me!" And then she wrenched the door of the boys' changing room open, slid inside, and slammed it shut again.

"Why do they keep going into the boys' locker room?" Izumi asked frustratedly. No one answered her. Indeed, even if someone _did_ have the answer (probably something to do with the fact that society wouldn't expect them to hide in there, seeing as they were both female), they wouldn't have gotten the chance to respond at all, for at that moment-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

And in charged the man of the hour, Tsurugi Taro himself. It is to be noted that his normally immaculate spiky hairstyle, supported by hair spray, mousse, and natural spikiness that came from styling his bedhead into something slightly more presentable, was a wreck, his clothes were scuffed and had dirt all over them, and his shoes were soaked and totaled.

"Hello, Tsurugi-kun," Sousuke said calmly. "Care to explain why Tomo-chan and Captain - and you, come to think of it - are running screaming?"

"No time for that! Hide me!" Taro hissed frantically. His gaze swept over the clubroom and he zeroed in on Ameko. "YOU! This is all your fault!"

"Eh? Eh?!" she squeaked. Izumi leaped up, anger boiling over. She had snapped.

"First you're late, then you arrive in a right mess, and now you're blaming it on a visitor?! What's wrong with you, Tsurugi?!"

"It's not what's wrong with me, it's what's wrong with-"

"FOUND YOU!"

And then Kotori burst in. Ameko finally understood what was going on and buried her face in her hands.

* * *

 _Some time earlier_

"Sh-Sh-She..."

"She?" Torikichi prompted with a sigh, continuing to drag his elder sister along. He wondered if he'd be able to make it to the soccer club before she regained enough control of herself to stand and walk on her own. Wait, she _had_ switched her footwear at the shoe lockers, right? A quick glance down at her confirmed this, much to his relief.

"She yelled at me! She actually yelled at me!" Kotori had a look of disbelief and slight pride in her eyes. "She's growing up!"

"Uh, yeah," Torikichi sighed. Well. It was about time for his younger sister to develop a stronger backbone. Personally, he had been hoping that she could take some of Kotori's fire instead, and they'd balance out. Too bad there was no chance of that happening. "Y'know, nee-san, she's fifteen already. It's not that surprising that she's growing into her own self." Then again, he _had_ once called Kotori the ultimate siscon. She'd beaten him up and he didn't call her that again to her face, but it didn't change the fact that he had good reason for this nickname.

Kotori was quiet for a little while before saying, "I guess not."

Torikichi grimaced at her melancholy tone. "...Nee-san-"

"Torikichi."

"Nee-san-"

"Torikichi."

He sighed and tried again. "Nee-"

" _Torikichi_."

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "What."

" _I see the bleeper that knocked over Ameko this morning_."

"That's not a nice thing to call people, and she bumped into him." His sister had been acting weird all day. Must've been the moving jitters.

(It was actually a severe case of aimless development, but he was not at liberty to know such classified information, nor was anyone else, so it remained a steadfast mystery until the end of time.)

"Wait here, okay?" she growled, cracking her knuckles and managing to wrench herself out of his grip. "I need to have a little chat with him."

Torikichi was never one for following his sister's orders to a tee, so he ambled after her instead of staying put. It would at the very least be entertaining.

And indeed it was. The second blueberry boy caught sight of her, he paled (even more than he already was, at any rate, something that Torikichi found incredibly amusing to start with). Then he glanced around as if hoping for someone else who might be the target of her ire. There were plenty of other students milling about, but none of them looked like they were fearing for their lives. ...The fact that her bloodlust was directed at him with pinpoint accuracy also helped him reach the conclusion that she was angry at him.

So he started walking away. Torikichi inwardly snickered; that wouldn't be enough to deter Kotori. She walked after the blueberry, matching him step for step. He walked a little faster. So did she. He rounded the corner of the building. She ran and skidded after him. Then he broke into a full out sprint, face twisting like he tasted something sour, and she was sprinting after him, her shoes slapping the pavement. "GET BACK HERE! WE NEED TO HAVE A CHAT!" she screeched. Torikichi briefly considered going to the soccer club alone; it would be troublesome if she got into trouble and he was dragged along by association. Hmm...

"LEMME ALONE, YOU CRAZY CHICK! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

...Nah, he was gonna follow.

And the hunt was on. Just like a dog or a grizzly bear will chase after quickly-moving prey, Kotori chased after blueberry with nary a thought to the repercussions of her actions. It was unusual for her to not wait until her target was off school grounds and preferably somewhere near a dark alley (Torikichi should really have been more worried about his sister's near delinquent tendencies), but he chalked it up the moving jitters or whatever again. Blueberry boy was fast, Torikichi would give him that - in fact, the other boy's speed almost made him wonder if he was on the school's track team.

* * *

Taro chanced a glance behind himself, let out a 'tch', and sped up. At this rate, he'd be doing laps around the school.

...

Wait, why not go _inside_ the school?

...

Yeah, inside was a good plan. He just had to avoid Fuyukai-sensei and detention, maybe use a backdoor, and head to the soccer club. Yes. Good plan, good plan. He veered left and slipped through the door to the horticulture club's greenhouse, navigating his way through it to the door connecting it to the school without trouble. That idiot science teacher Ushikawa-sensei (who also happened to be the club's adviser) had dragged him through multiple times, after all, as if he could drag him away from the soccer club.

And speaking of Ushikawa-sensei, the man himself was there, helping a pony-tailed third-year re-pot some azaleas.

"Tsurugi-kun!" he exclaimed, his eyes seeming to light up despite his perpetual squint. "What are you doing here? Have you decided to join after all?"

Taro ignored him, obviously.

"Oi, Tsurugi. The bleep are you doing?" the pony-tailed upperclassman called. Much more direct and far less genial - bordering on hostility, in fact. And the duo wondered why he never even considered joining the horticulture club...

"Sorry, senpai. I'm busy fleeing for my life."

"I asked a question, and I demand an answer." The third-year in question managed to snag him in a headlock and dragged him out a doorway that connected to the forest adjoining the school. The area was used for foraging (cooking club; people rarely ate what they made for fear of poisonous plants), hunting for new plant species or just getting acquainted with the area's flora in general (horticulture club and biology club), and a training ground (every single sports club in the school). Well, even if he disliked being headlocked (and also happened to dislike this particular upperclassman), that creepy wing girl would have to have difficulty tracking him down through the brush, right? Right. Besides, he knew the way to the soccer club from here. The third-year dragged him along and dropped him next to a fine specimen of the _Acer palmatum_ , Ushikawa-sensei following and fretting. The third-year glared. "Okay, answer me. The bleep were you doing?"

"Fleeing for my life," Taro repeated, dusting himself off. Fooey, his hair was messed up. "Some crazy chick was chasing me thirsting for my blood."

"What?!" Ushikawa-sensei shrieked in horror. "Why didn't you get help?!"

Taro ignored him in favor of interrogating the third-year. "Why aren't you at the kendo club beating up their new recruits?"

"The azaleas needed re-potting," the upperclassman responded flatly. "And I need to make sure the first years don't touch my lotuses. They're my girlfriend's favorites."

Taro snorted. "Then shouldn't you be getting back?"

"Hn. I guess."

Taro stared at the upperclassman's retreating back and swaying ponytail. "...Then why did you drag me out here in the first place?"

"Why else? For bleeps and giggles," the upperclassman called back.

"...I don't know how that guy's going to become a proper member of society," Taro deadpanned.

" _One could say the same thing about you, you pedophile_."

Taro paled at the vengeful growl and sprinted off again, screaming, "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! AND SHE'S ONLY ONE YEAR BELOW ME!"

Ushikawa watched pensively as his favorite student (the fact that Taro had somehow managed to revive those daffodils that one time may or may not have contributed to this title) fled the brown-haired transfer student. Another brunette, this one male, jogged after the duo, an amused grin on his face. "Don't worry, sensei. I'll make sure she doesn't kill him."

...

Ushikawa decided to go back and finish re-potting the azaleas with Kanda, his other favorite student (because anyone who could convince the stubborn principal to allocate funds to a proper greenhouse for the horticulture club was amazing in his book, though he never did find out how that boy did it). Taro would probably be fine.

* * *

Back to the chase, Taro managed to gain entry into the school, vaulting through the open window of a third-year classroom on the first floor. The art club just so happened to be meeting there, and he tried not to think too hard on the furious scribbling of pencils on paper and excited murmuring as he and Kotori re-enacted what was probably a famous chase scene in some action movie. He raced up the stairs, down the stairs, zig-zagged through the halls (he quickly gave up on this last; it was too inefficient), Kotori following in pursuit. For her part, her field of vision had narrowed to only accommodate her target, and she was only dimly aware that Torikichi had disappeared some time ago. Talk? Ha. She was about to bust a gut - _Taro's_ gut.

...

Okay, so maybe she wasn't, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to at least threaten him.

Then Taro decided _to heck with it_ and leaped over the railing of the stairs down a floor and sped off. Kotori snarled in rage but took the far less risky (she didn't want to break her neck, after all) route of actually taking the stairs. Her knuckles turned white and her palms and fingers red as her hand slid down the railing...

Only to find the hallway devoid of human life.

Well, he couldn't have gone far. Kotori walked through the hall slowly, her steps echoing loudly. There was an ever-so-convenient restroom to the direct right of the staircase.

 _Bingo_.

Because there was no way he would think she'd have the guts to go in there. Ha. She marched right in, fearlessly opening the door. She just barely heard a breath hitch in someone's throat as well as the sound of someone shifting. She made a beeline for the stall that the noise had come from. " _Found you_."

There was a great _SPLASH!_ and an infuriated curse, and a pale hand reached up and grabbed the top of the stall door. It was almost like something from a horror movie. Then Taro jumped over the door, cleared the top of her head, and dashed off while she was still frozen in shock, soaked shoes making _squish_ sounds as he ran.

They had made it back to the first floor. To heck with losing her in the maze of the indoors, he was going to take his chances in the open space outside. She was back on his trail mere heartbeats later, and he all but flew out the large double doors that served as both entrance and exit. He found himself face to face with Amagi-senpai, the soccer club captain. "Hello." His greeting was barely a gasp; he was tired, he was frantic, and he was actually kind of scared. That girl had creepy tenacity and immense bloodlust, and the quiet school hadn't helped. Honestly, the ordeal had felt like something from one of those slasher films his uncles - both of them - liked to watch with him, and that hadn't been reassuring. At all. The shouts from the various sports clubs operating outside was a huge relief. So was the presence of the captain, actually; her large, stocky build and no-nonsense eyes made her an excellent defender, a rock-like support of a friend, and a generally well-liked and respected captain.

"Tsurugi, what are you running from?" she deadpanned.

"Crazy girl. Scary. Kill." Seriously, he was more tired than any soccer match had ever made him. Then again, he usually didn't sprint full throttle for so long in soccer matches, either, and there was no one to cover for him or pick up his slack when he really, really needed a break.

For her part, Amagi furrowed her brow in confusion as she hurried to keep up with him. Then Kotori came tearing out of the building with a banshee-like screech, and it all made sense.

"Put on some speed, Tsurugi! RUN!"

* * *

"And that brings us to our current situation," the captain finished, taking a sip of tea. She had hijacked the story once it got to her part. Izumi had left a while ago, casting a pensive glance at Kotori and mouthing 'don't die' to Taro as she escaped. "I'm Amagi Tetsuko, by the way." She glanced between Izumi and Taro. "Now, you two. The captain of the team has to be able to get along with their teammates and act as a mediator when needed, _right_?" She set down her cup. "Even the slightest bit of bad blood festers into hate. Haven't I told you that from the beginning? So make up."

"The captain must also be prepared to discipline a teammate who has been misbehaving," Izumi countered. "He's late, and on such an important day."

"Hey, that isn't my fault!" Taro snapped, his cup of tea untouched. He was probably afraid of poison. Or laxatives. Which... kind of said a lot about the kind of relationship he had with Izumi. "It's _hers_ for chasing me around the school a hundred times!"

"It _is_ your fault!" Kotori roared, and then she refused to elaborate further, possibly because of the fact that her brother had performed an undignified belly flop across her lap to act as a human restraint the second Sousuke and Hotaru had managed to wrestle her into a seat. Izumi smirked approvingly.

"Matsukaze-san, I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Tetsuko sighed in frustration. "See, Izumi, this is your problem! I don't know what your beef is with Tsurugi, but you need to stop antagonizing him." Taro snickered, and she rounded on him next. "And you! Don't think you're off the hook! Instead of trying to reason with her or be the adult in this situation, you just argue back! You need to stop that, too!"

"Oh my. Captain's really letting loose," Sousuke said cheerfully.

Torikichi looked up from where he was munching on _senbei_ (and getting crumbs all over the floor). "Hey, if these two are so problematic, then why are they the captain candidates?"

"Oh, they may act like they hate each other, but they're generally pretty good with the rest of the team and they're natural-born leaders," Sousuke explained, his happy smile never dropping. "That, and no one's brave enough to enter the fray. That might change with you, your sister, and Estoc-kun joining, but for now, Captain's decided to make a choice between those two."

"Oh. ... Want a cracker?"

 **(A/N: ZA- ENDO! The end. For now. Kind of lame and on a somewhat cliffhanger, sigh. Maybe I can get to the drama club and Tadao next chapter. Welp, Imma post this and maybe go to sleep.)**


	6. Meeting the Soccer Club (Part 2)

**(A/N: The next chapter. If you look between this story and my other on-going one (Allen Walker and the Hogwarts Drabbles), you can see a clear difference in quality, and it bugs me because I don't know what I'm doing different. Also, I finally completed a oneshot for KHR, but there's another one I want to post first - the one I first started writing, actually - so now I need to hurry up and finish that. And my book report. And respond to messages. I'm such a wretched procrastinator. Blah. Also, a news flash: the goal is now to finish the story before the end of high school, because I don't want to worry about this when I'm freaking out over career path and college. I like to write but aimless meandering that is not a oneshot can be stressful. Therefore I am only going to focus on getting one main couple together, making this chapter partially pointless because it's mainly to introduce some minor characters, but I don't want to write something later on and have some character pop up who no one knows but me and that character's creator. ... No, I am not fully intending on accepting OCs. Not after that rant. *goes to cower in a corner, completely forgetting about disclaimers*)**

"Taaaaaaaaaaaa-daooooooooo!" Tsubaki all but sang, skipping over to her favorite underclassman. "There you are! I was looking all over for you, squirt!"

He grinned nervously in response, taking a step back from the exuberant pink-haired girl. "A... ha ha ha?"

"Can we start now, princess?" an irritated-looking third-year asked. He was seated on a throne (Tadao marveled at the craftsmanship; the paint job was amazing, and the plush cushions looked almost like real velvet) with his feet propped up on a table covered in papers.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." Leaning over to Tadao, she whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "This wet blanket is our esteemed leader, Takanami Hiruta. From a bigot to a beggar, he can play any role." A thick packet of papers hit her on the head. "...And he was in his middle school's basketball team, and he wasn't half-bad."

"I was a star," he corrected her with an arrogant toss of his head. His hair (a princely shade of blonde, Tadao noted) swirled dramatically at the motion before settling again just above his ears. "But then I realized that I could shine better onstage and bid farewell to that barbaric era of my life."

"He's also an arrogant butthole," Tsubaki tacked on.

"Butthole, Kirino-senpai?" inquired another first year, quirking a teal eyebrow. "We aren't in grade school."

"That we aren't," she agreed. "But Tadao is a precious munchkin who must not be corrupted."

Takanami abruptly stood up. "The time is five o'clock," he intoned, eyes closed and swaying slightly. "We now must all introduce ourselves. I, my lovelies, am the king of this club, Takanami Hiruta." He paused. "That's all you need to know for now. I want everyone to buddy up in groups of four with two girls and two boys each, at least one second or third year, and at least one person who does something different in the club, if possible. Disperse!"

The clubroom immediately became a bustle of activity as people grouped together. Tsubaki had immediately looped her arm through Tadao's and captured a third year who apparently worked with the set, and the teal-haired boy from before had drifted over, smiling a sweet smile.

"I," Tsubaki said promptly, "am Kirino Tsubaki. Acting division. Favored role... princess. I'm a second year."

The third year, a tall brunette with glasses and large, bright eyes, shook her head at the other's dramatics. "I'm Megane Kana, third-year. I'm with the set. I also built that poor abused chair." She pointed at the throne that Hiruta was balancing atop of, an adoring crowd of first years gathered around him. "And I'm Taka-kun's girlfriend. Nice to meet you."

"Kageyama Tadao," Tadao said, eyeing Kana almost as admiringly as he had the chair she'd built. He could appreciate a good craftsman - craftswoman, in this case. "First year. I came here from Raimon Middle School. Set. I look forward to working with you."

"Kariya Raiden," the teal-haired boy piped up. He gave a cheerful, toothy grin. Tsubaki could feel her heart melting a little at the adorable expression. "I came here from Oumihara Middle School in Okinawa. Nice to meet you. I'm an actor." He promptly morphed his smile into a devious smirk that erred on the evil side. Tsubaki seemed to be even more delighted by this.

Kana rolled her eyes and lightly bonked the younger girl on the head. "You can salivate over how much of a good job you think he's going to do later. Let's show them around first, Kirino."

Tsubaki saluted. "Yes, your queenship!" she declared. "Alright, young grasshoppers, where shall we lead you first...?"

* * *

"Captain!"

"Tsurugi, where were you? We were waiting!"

"Ehhhh, who's the blonde guy? Isn't he _too_ good-looking?"

"Shindou, only two first years came! Where did we go wrong with recruitment?!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY CLEATS, YOU BLEEP!"

Shindou grimaced, shutting her eyes tightly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Raimon High School's soccer club," she said flatly.

"Isn't Raimon supposed to be the height of the soccer world?" Torikichi asked curiously, surveying the field. They only had enough people to form a team and a half.

"Competitor schools snapped up most of the others from middle school," Tsurugi grumbled ill-temperedly. "Instead, our high school's well-known for basketball now. Disgraceful."

"Tsurugi, that's disrespectful to the basketball team. They never did anything to us."

"Oh, bite me, rich girl. You're just saying that 'cause your boyfriend's on the team."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Fine, fiance."

"He's not my fiance either! It's only been a suggestion so far!"

Tsurugi shot her an incredulous look. "I was joking."

Torikichi whistled lowly. "Wow. Rich people are amazing."

Tsurugi snorted. "Rich? No, not really. His father's friends with Shindou's."

"Tsurugi, that's enough divulging information about me and mine," Izumi ground out. "Unless you'd like me to tell them about how you still have the yellow-"

"How do you even know about that?! I didn't even know you back then!"

"Presumably for the same reason that you know about my business."

Tetsuko groaned. "These two are going to be at it for a while... I suppose I should introduce everyone, huh?" She clapped her hands to draw attention. "Everybody, listen up!" The team stopped paying attention to Izumi and Taro's verbal face-off to congregate around her, which she appreciated. She knew how intense it could get between the two blockheads she called her potential successors and how much their arguments could draw people in, especially when they pulled out the embarrassing childhood stories that they really shouldn't have known about each other considering they hadn't met until their first year at high school. "Alright, where are the two first years?" Three hands were raised, two flailing energetically, one rather weak. "Right. Get over here." The specified people were marched to the front where Tetsuko could see them. One was supremely tall, and the other was... a rather normal height. A supremely _short_ boy was standing next to the tall kid, dwarfed by her height.

Tetsuko cleared her throat. "Okay, let's get the new recruits introduced. We've got Estoc here - you all remember him from when he showed up at one of our summer practices, right?" A ripple of nods confirmed this. "Good. That's Kurama Katsuya, who also showed up to a summer practice." Katsuya, who was rather skinny but made up for his apparent frailty with enthusiasm, waved energetically again. "This is Matatagi Hotaru, who I'm sure at least some of you know because she photobombed in a youth soccer magazine once." Hotaru looked thoroughly, cheerfully unrepentant of her actions. No one really expected her to. Well, except perhaps Izumi. "Matsukaze Torikichi, Kotori, and Ameko. It seems they just moved here." A round of whoops followed this declaration. Someone fist pumped in the back. "And I'm going to assume that this beanpole is Nishizono Usagi."

"Can I go now?" Usagi begged. "I wanted to join the table tennis club."

Tetsuko looked taken aback by this, then turned to glare at the short boy. "Nishizono. You did _not_ drag your sister here against her will."

He shrugged in a placating manner. "Mom's idea. She wanted us to be in the same club. Dad was all for it, though."

Tetsuko almost facepalmed. Almost. Instead, she sighed resignedly, ordered the established players into groups depending upon their position, and then ordered the new members to go with the groups they planned on joining.

Kotori immediately moved with the forwards (which, coincidentally, Taro was). Haqua watched her for a few seconds before going to Sousuke, who was pulling on a pair of gloves. Hotaru had tried to join the forwards as well, but Torikichi and the midfielders (including tiny little Nishizono Shunsuke) kidnapped her. Usagi recommended that she give in to her fate. Katsuya had joined the defenders, insisting that he did too have an affinity for it despite his willowy build. Ameko fidgeted next to Tetsuko.

The captain raised an inquiring eyebrow. "You want to be a manager," she interpreted.

Ameko nodded, looking relieved. "Yes, please."

"Right." Tetsuko grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her to a bench by the field where a girl with orange curls, a girl sharp blue eyes, and a pair of crutches were sitting.

"Welcome to the bench of the exiled," the sharp-eyed girl said flippantly when they arrived. Her thick, unruly hair was purple, and Ameko labeled her _plum_. The _other_ purple-haired girl present bopped her on the head.

"It's not exile, Fudou," Tetsuko snapped. "You broke your leg. It can't be helped."

"Yeah, that's what the doctors and the bleep that crashed his bike into me said," the girl muttered moodily, crossing her arms and slouching. Tetsuko sighed.

"Ameko," she said, "this is Fudou Yukiha. She's our ace striker, but she got in an unfortunate accident with a biker and broke her leg, so she's acting as a manager for now."

"I don't see why I'm still here," Yukiha seethed. "By the time I'm healed and I finish with physical therapy, a trimester will have gone by and I'll need to get cracking on studying." She paused at Ameko's quietly curious expression and added, "It wasn't a clean break, kid."

"Fudou, it's not that bad."

"I'm not like Kirino," Yukiha said bitterly. "Soccer's my _life_. I don't want to give up on it just because of as stupid injury and college exams."

While Yukiha angsted and Tetsuko tried to make her stop, the other manager had bounced over. Ameko nicknamed her orange. Hooray for fruit! "I'm Amemiya Asahi, second year," she said, her manner as bright as her name. "Welcome to our ranks! Yuki-senpai's cool and all, but I've been itching for another girly girl to talk to. Can I call you Ameko-chan?"

"Of course!" Ameko returned with an equally bright smile.

Tetsuko, having finished arguing with Yukiha and satisfied that Ameko was better settled in, returned to the field.

It was time to test how good these newbies were.

 **(A/N: Uwahhhh, short. I think my favorite character is Yukiha. She's been floating around my mind longer than any of the others, though going by the timeline, she's substantially younger than I had her originally. When I made her, she was... say...six to seven years older. Going by the timeline. She was actually in middle school, but timeline. Timeline. ... I have no idea how I'm going to get together that couple the story's gonna focus on. Or what I'm going to do with the mountain of ingenious hissatsus Luigi the Dusk sent me, because they need to be used, darn it, but I'm no good at writing soccer. On a separate note, I still haven't started my book report that is due in a week. Farewell...)**

 **(A/N: Wait, no, not yet. IE had seasons. GO had colors. Does anyone recognize the manager name trend here~? And** _ **now**_ **it's farewell.)**


	7. Adoption notice

**This is the author speaking. I can't bring myself to continue this. If anyone would like to take the reins from here... Well, please do so. The story's still young so I haven't messed things up _too_ bad, and I'm going to miss some of these characters, but I believe it would be better in the hands of a different author.**

 **Stressed Pika out.**


End file.
